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Heavy responsibilities for elder aunt among the Logooli

With Seenge Fonesi. She is the elder grand daughter of Isagi and elder daughter of Amugasya. She is often present in functions involving the family of Amugasya. Pic taken on 18/4/2024. The elder sister soon becomes the elder aunt. It is this “seenge munene” (elder aunt) tag that she is tied to many cultural responsibilities – back home. To her marital family she may appear as any other woman, but she is not so in the eyes of her people. Marriage does not steal her away as it would happen with other daughters of the old man. To her, as days go and the old man and woman of the estate are dependents, she becomes increasingly present.  Her brothers also need her for almost all traditional markings. They are marrying, she needs to welcome the new wife. They are giving birth, she needs to come to midwife or “bless” the new born. They are paying dowry she needs to lead the women delegate. There is a conflict she needs to come for a hearing.  And many others. Traditions does not expect her to
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A look into the History of Abanyore

There is no presence of Saniaga/Saniaka clan in the more than seventy clans and sub clans of avaNyore people. Not that avaNyore by themselves are a distinct group for but three that refer themselves as main Nyore people, the majority are said to have come from other communities and joined to form the avaNyore tribe.

Our interest is to redefine a tribe by having a deeper look at the clans. The tribe blanket, characterized by language and locality mainly fails to appreciate individual clan origins and expanse - key to integration and increased awareness of a people not limited to boundaries and language.

Prior to the establishment of vaNyore, the oral collections place muGusii, muKuria, muRogori and muNyore at par, probably of one ancestor. That they came from Buganda. There were those that went further south; Omuyoma, Etemo and Asembo. Here history is at a speculation. For five hundred year period is long a time to a community that had immediate leisure niceties as drinking local brew than participating in the mind search of establishing hierarchies. A considerable number of tales bring to air jealousy and hatred - it would be difficult for any kingship to sprout. Such organization would have preserved more of not only avaNyore but other tribes alike. Not as we had stated in the previous paragraph that clans outdo tribes. With their weakness.

Anyore II begot Amuri, Asirazi and Amutete. The indigenous clans of avaNyore. Anyore II was the son of Anyore that died in war. This name was takes from abaNyoro of Uganda where they had migrated from. It is the remainder clans that arouse interest - how they came, interacted, learnt language and settled to present. Till they are now termed as avaNyore.

AvaSiekwe, avaBayi, avaKanga, avaTongoi, avaMang'ari, avaYangu, avaMusira, avaSiraro, avaMurere, avaMukunzi, avaKuya, avaSubi, avaSirirori, avaSikare, avaSakami and a few others are all clans that equally settled in the present Bunyore region.

Interest for now is on two of the clans - avaMusila and avaYangu. Both of nilotic origin with vaMusila originally from Karachuonyo and avaYangu from Nandi (Kabarnet). Not that the other clans that have origin from neighbouring _luhya_ communities are of little interest but because of our desire to find Saniaga appearance in communities in Luhya and Nilotic. AvaSikare came from Maragori for instance, a boarder community.

AvaMusira from Karachuonyo to Kano and later to Bunyore is said to have been as a result of drought called Olwendede whereby people would run to kins yonder lest they have providence. It found a man called Anzara from the house of Musila already eloped with a girl from Bunyore at the famous ikisumiru (kisumiru) market. That is how he came to live and beget successors in Bunyore. There are also vaNyore in Kano and yonder. To mean that the friendships were long struck, the clans must have early broke in migration and acquisition of new language was no breakaway from one's roots.

AvaYangu had two houses. AvaTika and avaLupeku. They would separate over a kin kill. Some went to Ilesi. Some went to Tiriki. Some to Gusii and the parents to Maragoli. Very interesting. With origins from Kabarnet and a few generations later dispersing in this manner in fear of danger from the death of a kin might add an eye to the way we see tribes. There was room for expansion and migration. There were distance kins to run to.

The Tiriki stretch for instance is credited to avaNyore expansion and migration. Without avaNyore there would be no vaTiriki. For vaTiriki, as a tribe are not a people of one origin. Hence need to follow up on clans' history.

-/With Thanks
saniaga.org
saniaga.blogspot.com
info.saniaga@gmail.com
facebook.com/saniaga.org

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